scholarly journals Where Security Meets Justice: Prosecuting Maritime Piracy in the International Criminal Court

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie O'BRIEN
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Security ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Crime ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Maritime Piracy ◽  
World Maritime

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established to prosecute crimes that “threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world”. Maritime piracy has a long history as a threat to international security and was in fact the first international crime. Yet piracy was excluded from the Rome Statute. In the years since the drafting of the Rome Statute, piracy has increased dramatically to become more like the threat it was in the “Golden Age of Piracy”. Criminal accountability for piracy has been minimal, due to logistical and jurisdictional difficulties. This paper offers an analysis of the potential of the ICC for prosecuting pirates: why it should be considered as a potential forum for ensuring criminal accountability for piracy, how piracy fits within the ICC's jurisdiction, and whether or not piracy should be added to the Rome Statute as a stand-alone crime or under the rubric of crimes against humanity.

scholarly journals Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, Judgment in the Jordan Referral re Al-Bashir Appeal

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-109
Author(s):  
Angela Mudukuti
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Arrest Warrant ◽  
Head Of State

In 2009, the International Criminal Court (ICC) stepped into uncharted waters as it issued its first arrest warrant for a sitting head of state, then President of Sudan Omar Al-Bashir. Following the UN Security Council's referral of the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan to the ICC, Al-Bashir was charged by the Court with war crimes and crimes against humanity, and in 2010, he was also charged with genocide. As a consequence, all of the states parties to the Rome Statute had a duty to arrest Al-Bashir. Several states have nonetheless failed to arrest him during country visits, allowing Al-Bashir to evade the ICC. This has given rise to a number of cases before the ICC Chambers, including this Appeals Chamber judgment regarding the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Part 6 The Trial: Le Procès, Art.68 Protection of the victims and witnesses and their participation in the proceedings/Protection et participation au procès des victimes et des témoins

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Schabas William A
Keyword(s):  
General Principle ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Gender Violence ◽  
Violence Against Children ◽  
Public Hearings ◽  
Personal Interests

This chapter comments on Article 68 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 68 governs the protection of victims and witnesses. The Court is required to take ‘appropriate measures’ for the protection of ‘the safety, physical and psychological well-being, dignity and privacy of victims and witnesses’. The provision places special emphasis upon victims of sexual or gender violence, or violence against children. It also departs from the general principle of public hearings in order to protect victims and witnesses. Where the personal interests of victims are affected, the Court shall permit their ‘views and concerns’ to be presented and considered.

Defining “Crimes Against Humanity” at the Rome Conference

1999 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darryl Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Multilateral Negotiations ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Many

On July 17, 1998, the UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (Rome Conference) adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). One of the many significant provisions of the ICC statute is Article 7, which defines “crimes against humanity” for the purpose of the ICC. A significant difference between the definition in the ICC statute and the major precedents on crimes against humanity is that the former definition was not imposed by victors (as were those in the Nuremberg and Tokyo Charters) or by the Security Council (as were those in the Statutes of the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals). In contrast, Article 7 was developed through multilateral negotiations involving 160 states. For this reason, one could reasonably expect Article 7 to be more detailed than previous definitions, given the interest of participating states in knowing the precise contours of the corresponding obligations they would be undertaking. For the same reason, one might expect the definition to be more restrictive than previous definitions. Fortunately, although the definition in the ICC statute is more detailed than previous definitions, it generally seems to reflect most of the positive developments identified in recent authorities. For example, the definition does not require any nexus to armed conflict, does not require proof of a discriminatory motive, and recognizes the crime of apartheid and enforced disappearance as inhumane acts.

scholarly journals Is global poverty a crime against humanity?

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 539-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwilym David Blunt
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International System ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Global Poverty ◽  
Definition Of

Pogge has repeatedly compared the causes of global poverty with historical crimes against humanity. This claim, however, has been treated as mere rhetoric. This article argues that there are good reasons to take it seriously. It does this by comparing Pogge’s thesis on the causes of global poverty with the baseline definition of crimes against humanity found in international law, especially the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It argues that the causes of global poverty are comparable with the crimes of slavery and apartheid. This has important consequences for cosmopolitan thought, as it makes the need for practical solutions to global poverty more urgent and raises questions about the global poor’s right to resist the international system by violent means.

scholarly journals Kekerasan Seksual dalam Hukum Internasional

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 2199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mella Fitriyatul Hilmi
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Legal Capacity ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
Serious Crime ◽  
International Rescue Committee

Kekerasan terhadap perempuan dan anak sebagai kaum rentan dapat terjadi dalam segala situasi yakni saat konflik berlangsung, proses melarikan diri, maupun di tenda pengungsian. The International Rescue Committee melakukan survei pada tahun 2015 yang menunjukkan bahwa 40% dari 190 perempuan dan anak perempuan di Dara’a dan Quneitra telah mengalami kekerasan seksual dari para personil Organisasi Internasional saat mengakses layanan bantuan kemanusiaan. Kekerasan seksual yang terjadi di Suriah adalah tindak kekerasan seksual dengan penyalahgunaan kekuasaan, atau penyalahgunaan kepercayaan, untuk tujuan kepuasan seksual, maupun untuk memperoleh keuntungan dalam bentuk uang, sosial, politik dan lain sebagainya. Berdasarkan Pasal 7 Ayat (1) Rome Statute of The International Criminal Court, kekerasan seksual adalah tindak kejahatan terhadap kemanusiaan (crimes against humanity) yang masuk dalam kategori The most Serious Crime, sehingga Hukum Internasional punya peran dalam hal ini. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian yuridis normatif, dimana membahas terkait asas dan konsep Hukum Internasional mengenai kedudukan Organisasi Internasional selaku Subjek Hukum Internasional yang memiliki Legal Personality dan Legal Capacity. Oleh karena itu perlu diketahui pengaturan terkait dengan kekerasan seksual dalam hukum internasional.

Part 2 Jurisdiction, Admissibility, and Applicable Law: Compétence, Recevabilité, Et Droit Applicable, Art.7 Crimes against humanity/Crimes contre l’humanité

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Schabas William A
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Organizational Policy ◽  
Applicable Law ◽  
Contextual Elements ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual

This chapter comments on Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 7 defines crimes against humanity, one of four categories of offence within the subject-matter jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. The classic definitions of crimes against humanity, in such instruments as the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal, are vague and open-ended, leaving courts to interpret the scope of such expressions as ‘persecution’ and ‘inhumane acts’. Out of concern with the uncertain parameters of the crime, the drafters of the Rome Statute included extra language designed to restrain efforts at generous or liberal interpretation. The five distinct ‘contextual elements’ of crimes against humanity are: (i) an attack directed against any civilian population; (ii) a State or organizational policy; (iii) an attack of a widespread or systematic nature; (iv) a nexus between the individual act and the attack; and (v) knowledge of the attack.

Limitations of the Ordinary-Crimes Approach to the International Crime of Rape: the Case of Uganda

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 266-297
Author(s):  
Emma Charlene Lubaale
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Crime ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Principle Of Legality

Abstract Not many states have effective national laws on prosecution of international crimes. Presently, of the 124 states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), less than half have specific national legislation incorporating international crimes. Some faith has been placed in the ordinary-crimes approach; the assumption being that states without effective laws on international crimes can prosecute on the basis of ordinary crimes. This article assesses the practicality of this approach with regard to the crime of rape in Uganda. Based on this assessment, the author draws a number of conclusions. First, that there are glaring gaps in the Ugandan definition of rape, making it impossible for it to be relied on. Secondly, although national courts have the option to interpret national laws with a view to aligning them with international law, the gaps salient in the definition of ordinary rape are too glaring; they cannot be remedied by way of interpretation without undermining the principle of legality. Thirdly, prosecuting the international crime of rape as an ordinary crime suggests that approaches applicable to the prosecution of ordinary rape will be invoked. Because these approaches were never intended to capture the reality of the international crime of rape, the ordinary-crimes approach remains illusory.

In the Shadow of the International Criminal Court

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Appel
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Expected Payoffs

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is responsible for prosecuting crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. Despite the potential for the ICC to deter human rights abuses, scholars and policy makers are divided on the effectiveness of it. This debate, however, is plagued by some important theoretical and empirical limitations. I address the problems in the literature and evaluate whether the ICC can prevent human rights abuses. I argue that the ICC can deter governments from committing human rights violations by imposing a variety of costs on them throughout their investigations that decrease their expected payoffs for engaging in human rights abuses. Across a variety of statistical estimators that account for standard threats to inference and several anecdotes, I find strong support for my theoretical expectations; leaders from states that have ratified the Rome Statute commit lower levels of human rights abuses than nonratifier leaders.

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